The Secret History of the SMILEY FACE

Have a nice day… while watching the Watchmen

In the early ’70s, you couldn’t go anywhere without seeing the yellow smiley face. It was on patches, stickers, pins, T-shirts, you name it. It just… was.

Of course, it took on new life in the ’80s as a subversive symbol of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’ Watchmen — but how did we even get to that point? Well, historian Michael Eury’s got the answers in RetroFan #8 — due Feb. 12 from TwoMorrows.

In this EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT, Eury gives you the inside story of this piece of pop-culture ephemera.

But before we get to it, dig the table of contents so you have a real taste of what else the issue has in store:

Now, check out Michael Eury’s The Smiley Face:

RetroFan #8 is due Feb. 12. It will be available in comics shops but also directly through TwoMorrows. Click here.

MORE

— EXCLUSIVE: How ALAN MOORE Helped Create the WATCHMEN Role-Playing Game. Click here.

— The WATCHMEN Page That Gibbons and Moore Gave to Neil Gaiman. Click here.

Author: Dan Greenfield

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2 Comments

  1. Hard to believe that after 30 years as a public domain icon someone was able tp trademark it and defend that trademark in court. Major league bullshit that.

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